India's Entertainment and Media industry to hit $73.6 bn by 2027: PwC

India's entertainment & media (E&M) industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.48% to reach $73.6 billion by 2027, consultancy firm PwC said in its Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2023-2027 on Tuesday.

This comes after the total global E&M revenue of $2.32 trillion witnessed a sharp decline from a 10.6% growth rate in 2021 to 5.4% in 2022. This sluggish E&M growth comes on the back of a decline in consumer spending, the report explained, adding that 2022 marked an "important inflection point".

“Macroeconomic challenges, increased industry competition, and a reduction in production costs – particularly in digital services and experiences – have reduced revenues and consumers’ willingness to pay. If companies in the EM industry are to successfully engage consumers and drive growth, they need to transform their service offerings and tap into new and emerging markets and technologies, such as Asia and generative AI,” said Werner Ballhaus, Global entertainment and Media Industry leader, PwC Germany.

“There is huge long-term potential for the OTT and connected TV (CTV) market in India, courtesy the size and diversity of the country’s population,” the report said.

With new launches from international players and increasing "pay-lite" options, OTT revenue surged in recent years, expanding a further 25.1% in 2022 to reach $1.8 billion, over six times the revenue of 2018, the report noted. While the projected global growth rate for the OTT segment is 8.4%, the Indian market will continue to grow at a CAGR of 14.32% to produce revenue of $3.5 billion in 2027 on the back of the competitive Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) sector, which accounted for 78.1% of market revenue in 2022.

India is the second-fastest-growing video games market in the world behind Pakistan. India's total video games and esports revenue was $1.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2027, increasing at a CAGR of 19.4%. Although growth will continue to slow across the forecast period, it will remain significantly faster than the global average, says the PwC report.

The Indian cinema sector, which suffered significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, is now rebounding rapidly. Total cinema revenue in India was up sharply in 2022, reaching $1.1 billion, up from $402 million in 2021, the report says. Revenue is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2027 representing an increase at a 15.1% CAGR, it added.

The Indian Internet advertising market is among the fastest-growing in the world, with a 12.3% CAGR and is expected to see total revenue climb from $4.4 billion in 2022 to $7.9 billion by 2027, the report revealed. "There will be growth across the market over the forecast period, with the strongest performances coming in the mobile sector, where an overall CAGR of 13.7% is expected to push total revenue from $3.1 billion to $5.8 billion," it added.

"Increased mobile penetration and the use of digital technologies are poised to disrupt existing channels and create new possibilities in the years ahead for the sector. It is increasingly becoming important for traditional media and entertainment businesses to adopt the right strategies for growth as they face competition from digitally powered businesses,"argued Rajib Basu, Partner & Leader – Entertainment & Media, PwC India.

Moreover, India’s TV advertising market recovered rapidly from the Covid-19 pandemic downturn, with revenue expanding 19.0% in 2021 and 11.9% in 2022 to reach Rs 387,891 crore (US$4.7bn). According to the report, TV ad spend will grow at a 6.4% CAGR to reach Rs 536,445 crore in 2027, making India the fourth-largest TV advertising market globally, after the US, Japan and China.

The country’s total music, radio and podcasts market passed the $1 billion milestone in 2022 to reach $1.1 billion and is forecast to reach $1.5 billion in 2027, the report says. As Indian consumers log onto their favorite streaming platforms, the business for recorded music added over $200mn in the five years to 2022, it adds.

Going forward, "As the adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, ML and the metaverse increase, the range of use cases will broaden, leading to a significant disruption in the media industry," noted Manpreet Singh Ahuja, chief digital officer and leader of Technology, Media & Telecom at PwC India adding that media companies and content creators are already striving to provide more interactive and immersive experiences to viewers.